Roger P. Weissberg, Ph.D.

NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair
in Social and Emotional Learning
LAS Distinguished Professor
Professor of Psychology & Education

Office: 1008A BSB
Phone: (312) 355-0640
Fax: ((312) 355-4480
Email: rpw@uic.edu
Mailing Address:
1007 W. Harrison St. (MC 285)
Chicago, IL 60607-7137

Education:
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Major Interests:
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School-family-community partnerships to enhance children’s social, emotional, and academic learning; prevention of substance use, teen pregnancy, AIDS, delinquency, violence, and school dropout; positive youth development, health promotion, and service-learning; implementation and dissemination of social and emotional learning programs; risk and protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors; developmental psychopathology; clinical, community, applied-developmental, and school psychology; social policy planning for children, youth, and families; training of prevention scientists.

Roger P. Weissberg is NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning, LAS Distinguished Professor, and a Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Professor Weissberg directs the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Research Group (http://www.uic.edu/labs/selrg/) at UIC. He is also President and CEO of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an international organization committed to making evidence-based social, emotional, and academic learning an essential part of preschool through high school education (http://www.casel.org/). For the past three decades, Professor Weissberg has trained scholars and practitioners about innovative ways to design, implement, and evaluate family, school, and community interventions.

Professor Weissberg has authored about 200 publications focusing on preventive interventions with children and adolescents and has written curricula on school-based programs to promote social competence and prevent problem behaviors including drug use, high-risk sexual behaviors, and aggression. His Social Competence Promotion Program for Young Adolescents received a model program designation from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Some of his major published volumes include: Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators (1997), Enhancing Children's Wellness (1997), Establishing Preventive Services (1997), Children and Youth: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (1997), Promoting Positive Outcomes (1999), The Promotion of Wellness in Children and Adolescents (2000), Long-term Trends in the Well-being of Children and Youth (2003), a Special Issue of the American Psychologist on "Prevention for Children and Youth that Works" (2003), Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader's Guide to Evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning Programs (2003), Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say? (2004), School-Family Partnerships for Children's Success (2005), and Sustainable Schoolwide Social and Emotional Learning (2006).

Professor Weissberg has been the President of the American Psychological Association's Society for Community Research and Action. He co-chaired an American Psychological Association Task Force on "Prevention: Promoting Strength, Resilience, and Health in Young People." He is a recipient of the William T. Grant Foundation's five-year Faculty Scholars Award in Children's Mental Health, the Connecticut Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Psychological Contribution in the Public Interest, and the National Mental Health Association's Lela Rowland Prevention Award. He was named a 1997-2000 University Scholar at the University of Illinois and also was a 2004-2005 UIC Great Cities Institute Scholar. Professor Weissberg received the 2000 American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contribution Award for Applications of Psychology to Education and Training, and the Society for Community Research and Action 2004 Distinguished Contribution to Theory and Research Award. He also received the 2008 "Daring Dozen" award from the George Lucas Educational Foundation for being 1 of 12 people who are reshaping the future of education. He was named LAS Distinguished Professor in 2009.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Professor Weissberg graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Psychology from Brandeis University in 1974. He received his PhD from the University of Rochester in 1980. He was the Research Director for the Primary Mental Health Project from 1980 to 1982. He was a professor in the Psychology Department at Yale University between 1982 and 1992 where he collaborated with the New Haven Public School System to establish New Haven's kindergarten through grade 12 Social Development Project. Dr. Weissberg lives in Wilmette Illinois. He and his wife, Stephanie Wright (who is a clinical psychologist), have two wonderful children: Elizabeth (age 23) and Ted (age 19).

Professor Weissberg collaborates with talented members of the SEL Research Group including:

Cynthia R. Coleman (colemanc@uic.edu)
Director of Operations

Amy Mart (amart20@uic.edu)
Graduate Assistant

Jessy Z. Newman (jzadra2@uic.edu)
Senior Research Specialist

Sophia Solar (ssolar2@uic.edu)
Research Specialist 

Rawan Dissi (rdissi@uic.edu)
Operations Specialist

Books:
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Walberg, H. J., Reyes, O., & Weissberg, R. P. (Eds.). (1997). Children and youth: Interdisciplinary perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Weissberg, R. P., Gullotta, T. P., Hampton, R. L., Ryan, R. A., & Adams, G. R. (Eds.). (1997). Healthy children 2010: Enhancing children's wellness.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Weissberg, R. P., Gullotta, T. P., Hampton, R. L., Ryan, B. A., & Adams, G. R (Eds.). (1997). Healthy children 2010: Establishing preventive services. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Frey, K. S., Greenberg, M. T., Haynes, N. M., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M. E., &Shriver, T. P. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Reynolds, A. J., Walberg, H. J., & Weissberg, R. P., & (Eds.). (1999). Promoting positive outcomes. , DC: Child Welfare League of America Press.

Gullotta, T. P., Hampton, R. L., Adams, G. R., Ryan, B. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (Eds.). (1999). Children’s health care: Issues for the year 2000 and beyond. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cicchetti, D., Rappaport, J., Sandler, I. N., & Weissberg, R. P. (Eds.). (2000). The promotion of wellness in children and adolescents. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America Press.

Weissberg, R. P., Walberg, H. J., O’Brien, M. U., & Kuster, C. B. (Eds.).(2003). Long-term trends in the well-being of children and youth. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America Press.

Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C., & Walberg. H. J. (Eds.). (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? New York:Teachers College Press.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2005). The Illinois edition of safe and sound: An educational leader’s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning programs. Chicago, IL: Author.

Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H. J. (Eds.). (2005). School-family partnerships for children’s success. New York : Teachers College Press.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2005). The Illinois edition of safe and sound: An educational leader’s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning programs. Chicago, IL: Author.

Devaney, E., O’Brien, M. U., Resnik, H., Keister, S., & Weissberg, R. P. (2006). Sustainable schoolwide social and emotional learning: Implementation guide and toolkit. Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Selected Articles and Book Chapters:
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Weissberg, R. P., Caplan, M. Z., & Sivo, P. J. (1989). A new conceptual framework for establishing school-based social competence promotion programs. In L. A. Bond, & B. E. Compas (Eds.), Primary prevention and promotion in the schools (pp. 255-296). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Weissberg, R. P., Caplan, M., & Harwood, R. L. (1991). Promoting competent young people in competence-enhancing environments: A systems-based perspective on primary prevention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 830-841.

         Reprinted in: (1993). M. E. Hertzig & E. A. Farber (Eds.).
         Annual progress in child psychiatry and child
         development:1992 (pp.256-281). New York:
         Brunner/Mazel.

Weissberg, R. P., & Elias, M. J. (1993). Enhancing young people's social competence and health behavior: An important challenge for educators, scientists, policy makers, and funders. Applied and preventive psychology: Current scientific perspectives, 2 (4), 179-190.

The Consortium on the School-based Promotion of Social Competence. [Elias, M. J., Weissberg, R. P., Hawkins, J. D., Perry, C. L., Zins, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Kendall, P. C., Gottfredson, D., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Jason, L. A., & Wilson-Brewer, R.]. (1994). The school-based promotion of social competence: Theory, research, practice, and policy. In R. J. Haggerty, N. Garmezy, M. Rutter, & L. R. Sherrod (Eds.). Stress, risk, and resilience in children and adolescents: Processes, mechanisms, and interventions (pp.268-316). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Weissberg, R. P., Barton, H. A., & Shriver, T. P. (1997). The Social-Competence Promotion Program for Young Adolescents. In G. W. Albee & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), Primary prevention exemplars: The Lela Rowland Awards (pp. 268-290). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Weissberg, R. P., Shriver, T. P., Bose, S., & DeFalco, K. (May, 1997). Creating a districtwide social development project. Educational Leadership, 54, 37-39.

Weissberg, R. P., & Greenberg, M. T. (1998). School and community competence-enhancement and prevention programs. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & I. E. Sigel & K. A. Renninger (Vol. Eds.). Handbook of child psychology: Vol 4. Child psychology in practice (5th ed., pp. 877-954). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Elias, M. J., & Weissberg, R. P. (2000) Wellness in schools: The grandfather of primary prevention tells a story. In D. Cicchetti, J. Rappaport, I. N. Sandler, & R. P. Weissberg (Eds.), The promotion of wellness in children and adolescents (pp. 243-269). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America Press.

Payton, J. W., Graczyk, P. A., Wardlaw, D. M., Bloodworth, M., Tompsett, C. J., & Weissberg, R. P. (2000). Social and emotional learning: A framework for promoting mental health and reducing risk behavior in children and youth.Journal of School Health, 70, 179-185.

Zins, J. E., Elias, M. J., Greenberg, M. T., & Weissberg, R. P. (2000). Promoting social and emotional competence in children. In K. M. Minke & G. C. Bear (Eds.), Preventing school problems - promoting school success: Strategies and programs that work (pp. 71-99). Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists.

Weissberg, R. P. (2000). Improving the lives of millions of school children. American Psychologist, 55, 1360-1373.

Weissberg, R. P.  (2002).  Collaborating to support the implementation of coordinated school-based prevention programming: Action steps and challenges. In P.J. Mrazek & C.M.H. Hosman (Eds.), Toward a strategy for worldwide action to promote mental health and prevent mental and behavioral disorders (pp. 46-48).  Alexandria, VA: The World Federation for Mental Health.

Weissberg, R. P., & Weissberg, E. W. (2003). Foreword. In N. Haynes, M. Ben-Avi, & J. Ensign (Eds.). How social and emotional development add up: Getting results in math and science education (pp. ix-xii). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Elias, M. J., Bryan, K., Patrikakou, E. N., & Weissberg, R. P. (2003). Challenges in creating effective home-school partnerships in adolescence: Promising pathways for collaboration. The School-Community Journal, 133-153.

O'Brien, M. U., Weissberg, R. P., Walberg, H. J., & Kuster, C. B. (2003). The contributions and complexities of studying trends in the well being of children and youth. In R. P. Weissberg, H. J. Walberg, M. U. O'Brien, & C. B. Kuster (Eds.), Long-term trends in the well-being of children and youth (pp. 3-25).. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.

O’Brien, M. U., Weissberg, R. P., & Shriver, T. P. (2003). Educational leadership for academic, social, and emotional learning. In M. J. Elias, H. Arnold, & C. Steiger (Eds.), EQ+IQ: Best leadership practices for caring and successful schools (pp. 23-35). Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks, CA.

Weissberg, R. P., Resnik, H., Payton, J., & O’Brien, M. U. (2003). Evaluating social and emotional learning programs. Educational Leadership, 60 (6), 46-50.

Weissberg, R. P., & Kumpfer, K. (Eds.). (2003). Special Issue: Prevention that works for children and youth. American Psychologist, 58, 425-490.

Weissberg, R. P., Kumpfer, K., Seligman, M. E. P. (Eds.). (2003). Prevention that works for children and youth: An introduction. American Psychologist, 58, 425-432.

Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O’Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., & Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466-474.

Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Graczyk, P. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2003). Implementation, sustainability, and scaling of social-emotional and academic innovations in public schools. School Psychology Quarterly, 32, 303-319.

Zins, J. E., Bloodworth, M. R., Weissberg, R. P., & Walberg, H. J. (2004).  The scientific base linking emotional learning to student success and academic outcomes.  In J. E. Zins, R. P. Weissberg, M. C. Wang, & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say?  (pp. 3-22). New York, NY:  Teachers College Press.

Walberg, H. J., Zins, J. E., & Weissberg, R. P. (2004). Recommendations and conclusions: Implications for practice, training, research, and policy.  In J. E. Zins, R. P. Weissberg, M. C. Wang, & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? (pp. 209-217). New York, NY:  Teachers College Press.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Quintana, E., & Perez, F. (2004). Primary prevention: Involving schools and communities in youth health promotion. In L. A. Jason, C. B. Keys, Y. Suarez-Balcazar, R. R. Taylor, &M. I. Davis, J. Durlak, & D. Isenberg (Eds.), Participatory community research: Theories and methods in action (pp. 73-86). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Weissberg, R. P., & O’Brien, M. U. (2004). What works in school-based social and emotional learning programs for positive youth development. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 86-97.

Denham, S. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2004).  Social-emotional learning in early childhood: What we know and where to go from here. In E. Chesebrough, P. King, T. P. Gullotta, & M. Bloom (Eds.), A blueprint for the promotion of prosocial behavior in early childhood (pp. 13-50). New York : Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers.

Axelrod, J., O’Brien, M. U., & Weissberg, R. P. (2004). Social and emotional learning as a framework for school improvement and student success. The Community Psychologist, 37 (2), 8-10.

Seligman, M. E. P., Berkowitz, M. W., Catalano, R. F., Damon, W., Eccles, J. S., Gilham, J. E., Moore, K. A., Nicholson, H. J., Park, N., Penn, D. L., Peterson, C., Shih, M., Steen, T. A., Sternberg, R. J., Tierney, J. P., Weissberg, R. P., & Zaff, J. F. (2005). The positive perspective on youth development. In D. L. Evans, E. Foa, R. Gur, H. Hendrin, C. O'Brien,M. E. P. Seligman, & B. T. Walsh (Eds), Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders: What we know and what we don’t know ((pp. 499-529). New York: Oxford University Press, The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, and The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H. J. (2005) School-family partnerships: Enhancing the academic, social, and emotional learning of children. In E. N. Patrikakou, R. P. Weissberg, S. Redding, & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), School-family partnerships for children’s success (pp.1-17) New York: Teachers College Press.

Shriver, T. P., & Weissberg, R. P. (August 16, 2005). No emotion left behind. New York Times OP-ED, A15.

O’Brien, M. U., Weissberg, R. P., & Munro, S. B. (Winter 2005/06). Reimagining education: In our dream, social and emotional learning – or “SEL” is a household term. Green Money Journal, XIV(2) No. 57.

Cherniss, C., Extein, M., Goleman, D., & Weissberg, R. P. (2006) Emotional intelligence: What does the research really indicate? Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 239-245.

Payton, J. W., Munro, S., O’Brien, M. U., & Weissberg, R. P. (2006, September). Common ground: Cooperative learning helps create the essential skill of working (and compromising) within a group. Edutopia, 2(6), 53-55.

Elias, M. J., O’Brien, M. U., & Weissberg, R. P. (2006). Transformative leadership for social- emotional learning. Principal Leadership, 7(4), 10-13.

Patrikakou, E. N., & Weissberg, R. P. (2007). School-family partnerships and children’s social, emotional, and academic learning. In R. Bar-on, J. G. Maree, & M. J. Elias (Eds). Educating people to be emotionally intelligent (pp. 49-61). Heinemann Educational Publishers: Rondebosch.

Zins, J., Payton, J. W., Weissberg R. P., & O’Brien, M. U. (2007). Social and emotional learning and successful school performance. In G. Matthews, M. Zeidner, & R. D. Roberts (Eds.), Emotional intelligence: Knowns and unknowns (pp. 376-395). New York: Oxford University Press.

Durlak, J. A., Taylor, R. D., Kawashima, K, Pachan, M. K., DuPre, E. P., Celio, C. I., Berger, S. R., Dymnicki, A. B., & Weissberg, R. P. (2007). Effects of positive youth development programs on school, family, and community systems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 269-286.

Elias, M. J., Weissberg, R. P., & Patrikakou, E. N. (2007). A competence-based framework for parent-school-community partnerships in secondary schools. School Psychology International, 58, 540-554.

Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2007). The impact of after-school programs that promote personal and social skills. Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Weissberg, R. P., Payton, J. W., O’Brien, M. U., & Munro, S. (2007). Social and emotional learning. In F. C. Power, R. J. Nuzzi, D. Narvaez, D. K. Lapsley, & T. C. Hunt (Eds.), Moral education: A handbook, Volume 2: M-Z (pp. 417-418). Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.

Ji, P., Axelrod, J., Foster, C., Keister, S., O’Brien, M. U., Ogren, K., & Weissberg, R. P. (2008). A model for implementing and sustaining schoolwide social and emotional learning. The Community Psychologist, 41(2), 40-43.

Osher, D., Sprague, R., Weissberg, R. P., Axelrod, J., Keenan, S., & Kendziora, K. (2008). A comprehensive approach to promoting social, emotional,and academic growth in contemporary schools. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (Volume 4, pp. 1263-1278) Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Elias, M. J., Parker, S. J., Kash, V. M., Weissberg, R. P., & O’Brien, M. U. (2008). Social and emotional learning, moral education, and character education: A comparative analysis and a view toward convergence. L. P. Nucci & D. Narvaez (Eds.) (2008). Handbook of moral and character education (248-266). New York: Routledge

Katulak, N. A., Brackett, M. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2009). School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programming: Current perspectives. In A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, A. Hargreaves, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), International handbook of educational change (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.

Albright, M. I., & Weissberg, R. P. (2009). School-family partnerships to promote social and emotional learning. In S. L. Christenson & A. L. Reschley (Eds.), The handbook of school-family partnerships for promoting student competence. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.

Payton, J., Weissberg, R. P., Durlak, J. A., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., Schellinger, K. B., & Pachan, M. (2008). The positive impact of social and emotional learning for kindergarten to eighth-grade students: Findings from three scientific reviews. Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Deerin, J., & Weissberg, R. P. (2009). Navigating financial storms with emotional intelligence. Op-Ed published in three newspapers: The State (South Carolina); Post and Courier (South Carolina); and Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia).

Christenson, S. L., Weissberg, R. P., & Klein, J. A. (2009). Establishing school-family partnerships. In J. E. Zins & M. J. Elias (Eds.), Social and emotional learning 101: A sampler.

Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2010, winter). Social and emotional learning programmes that work. Better: Evidence-based Education.

Ji, P., & Weissberg, R. P. (2010, winter). Implementing school-wide social and emotional learning. Better: Evidence-based Education.

Ebertson, N. A., Brackett, M. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2010). School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programming: Current perspectives. In A Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational change (pp. 1017-1032). New York: Springer.

Albright, M. I., & Weissberg, R. P. (2010). School-family partnerships to promote social and emotional learning. In S. L. Christenson & A. L. Reschley (Eds.), The handbook of school-family partnerships for promoting student competence (pp. 246-265). New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 294-309.

Resnik, H., O’Brien, M. U., & Weissberg, R. P. (2010, spring). CASEL hosts landmark SEL Forum in Washington, DC: Lawmakers introduce new federal SEL legislation. Advances in SEL Research, 3(2), 5-6.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405-432.

Gordon, R., Ji, P. Mulhall, P., Shaw, B., & Weissberg, R. P. (2011). Social and emotional learning for Illinois students: Policy, practice, and progress. The Illinois Report 2011 (pp. 68-83). Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois.

Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2011). Promoting social and emotional development is an essential part of students’ education. Human Development, 54, 1-3.

Schonfeld, D. J., Adams, R., Fredstrom, B. Weissberg, R. P., Gilman, R., Voyce, C., Tomlin, R. & Speese-Linehan, D. (2011). A randomized, controlled trial of a 4-year elementary school social and emotional learning program: Positive impacts on academic achievement. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Albright, M. I., Weissberg, R. P., & Dusenbury, L. A. (2011). School-family partnership strategies to enhance children’s social, emotional, and academic growth. Newton, MA: National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, Education Development Center, Inc.

Dymnicki, A. B., Henry, D., & Weissberg, R. P. (2011). Understanding how programs work to prevent overt aggressive behaviors: A meta-analysis of mediators of elementary school-based programs. Journal of School Violence.

Mart, A., Dusenbury, L., & Weissberg, R. P. (2011). Social, emotional, and academic learning: Complementary goals for school-family partnerships. In S. Redding (Ed.), Handbook of family and community engagement.